Hint: its not shoes.

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Youve likely never givenyour ovens bottom drawer much thought.

In fact, its probably been weeks since you last opened it.

Oven with empty bottom drawer

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Or maybe, youve never even used it.

Hey, no judgement here.

The muffin tins we put in ours when we moved in are probably covered industby now.

And its easy to see where the confusion comes from.

The purpose of an ovens bottom drawer can vary greatly depending on the oven model.

Some are capable of getting very, very hot, while others are intended simply for storage.

Those are twoverydifferent things.

Misusing an ovens bottom drawer can be dangerous, so its important to know what youre working with.

There are three common uses for your oven’s bottom drawer.

Read on to find out more about each one, and the right way to use yours.

But that doesnt mean you should be storing yourtableclothsthere.

Warming

Warming drawers are intended to keep food warm.

These should be used to keep food warm before servingnot for storage of any kind.

Unlike storage and warming drawers, broiler drawers usually look more like a retractable pan.

These essentially serve as an additional cooking area, and are best used for toasting or browning.

The presence of abroilor warming drawer will always be called out on the product page, she adds.